SMALL ANIMALS OF NORTHERN ASIA AND EUROPE

The most destructive mammal on earth, the Norway Rat, is named after one of the world's most beautiful and rat-free countries. It initially invaded all of the maritime nations of Europe about the same time and is much plentiful outside of Norway than in it, but somehow the name stuck. It is the largest, most aggressive and adaptable of the world's four major rat species. [Source: Thomas Canby, National Geographic July 1977]

The European viper is a poisonous snake that reaches lengths of one to three feet. Europe's only poisonous snake, this rare beast has a bite that causes bleeding and tissue damage. The mortality rate is low and there is an antivenin. In April 2001, a photographer died from antidote, not snake bite of a European viper. Anova reported: “A photographer who was bitten by a viper he was trying to capture on film, has died after developing an allergic reaction to the antidote. The 37-year-old was bitten on both hands when he went too close to the snake while trying to photograph it in a forest, near Vasarosnameny in Hungary. The man, who has not been named, had gone to the woods to find one of the snakes and had prepared beforehand by getting a supply of the antidote. He was one of a small number of people who are found to be severely allergic to the antidote and died minutes after taking it. [Source: Ananova April 30, 2001]

The greater noctule, the largest bat species in Europe, regularly preys on small migrating birds. Examination of he bat feces have revealed feathers.

Hibernation

Hibernation is a process in which animals in temperate climates go into a sleep-like state and refrain from eating or drinking to survive the cold and lack of food in the winter. The metabolism of hibernating animals slows and their temperature drops by as much as 37 degrees F to 50 degrees F. The body uses just 13 percent of the energy it does when its awake. The central nervous system is maintained

Hibernation differs from sleep in that the breathing rate and the body temperature of the animals are dramatically reduced. When the weather becomes cold animals become sluggish and look for a place to hibernate. The hibernation period lasts from three to seven months depending on the length and severity of winter.

Some insects become frozen solid and some frogs become partly frozen. The temperature of other hibernating animals often drops to near zero. Mammals often become only slightly warmer than the air around them and develop slow and regular heart beats. If they become dangerously cold they "wake up" and warm themselves by moving around. If that doesn't work they risk freezing to death.

Hibernation seems to be triggered by low temperatures, shorter days and snow. Animals like a quiet and dark place for hibernation and will wake up if disturbed. Most animals prepare for winter or hibernation by fattening up during the summer and autumn. Some store food for hibernation and wake up occasionally but most don't. Animals that are the fattest often hibernate the longest. One the mysteries of hibernation is how animals urinate and defecate, either very little or not all.

Foxes, wolves, rabbits, deer, moose and elf don't hibernate. Other animals do. Tree fogs, skunks seek shelter in hollows of trees. Frogs and some turtles burrow in the mud. Snakes, bears, some mice and other small mammals climb into dens.

Deaths during hibernation are rare even though the rate of blood flowing to the brain is 10 percent of normal. If the human brain were deprived of that much blood death or major brain disorders would result. Scientists are studying hibernation and its applications to humans, particularly for space travel, preservation of organs for transplants and regulation of the blood during surgery.

Hedgehogs

Hedgehog are gentle, somewhat mouselike creatures with white tipped spikes covering most of their body. They are found throughout Europe, Asia and Africa. Their unique design has been so successful the hedgehog has survived for 70 million years, since the age of dinosaurs, virtually unchanged. A few years ago they became popular as pets in the United States. They are popular, pet store owners say, because they don't bite, chew up things, get too big or smell. In the wild, hedgehogs are common in many places, but they have suffered from heavy pesticide use and industrial agriculture. [Source: Chris Reiter and Gina C. Gould, Natural History, July 1998]

Hedgehogs reach a length of about 15 centimeters (six inches) and weigh around half a kilogram (a pound or two). They have poor eyesight but possess acute senses of smell and hearing. Hedgehogs are so named because in England they like to hang around hedges. They are also comfortable in forests, pastures, and backyard gardens. They like to sleep in a burrow or nests of twigs and leaves.

The 7,000 or so spines on the hedgehog's back and sides are actually modified hairs with hair chambers that became stiff when the animal is frightened or angry. Disturbed hedgehogs roll themselves into grapefruit-size balls that are difficult for humans to pick up or predators to bite. Unlike porcupine quills, hedgehog spines are short, lightweight and flexible. When a hedgehog feels threatened special muscles cause it to ball up and cinch its head and legs within a fleshy hood

Rabbits and Hares

Lagomorpha— hares, rabbits and pikas—have two pairs of sharp, chisel-like incisors (rodents have only one pair) that grow continuously. These are used to chop off grasses and other vegetation with a distinctive, clean, angled stroke. A male rabbit is called a buck. A female is called a doe. Young are called bunnies, kits or kittens. A group is called a colony or warren. A baby hare is called a leveret.

Both hares and rabbits have long front teeth, long ears and short back legs for running and jumping. The two kinds of animals look very similar and telling them apart can be difficult. A jack rabbit is actually a hare. The Belgian hare is really a rabbit.

Hares and rabbits are prey for many animals including lynx, hawks, owls, wolves and foxes. They reproduce quickly and thus produce a reliable food source except when their populations suddenly crashes as does happen in some places at some times. To escape from predators hares and rabbits rely on speed, their leaping ability, and ability to dart around in an unpredictable way. Some rabbits can leap 20 feet in a single bound.

Rabbit meat is very popular in some countries in Europe. It usually sold cut up or frozen like chicken and is fried or roasted. Fryer rabbits are usually slaughtered when they are two months old. Older ones are sold as roasters. Rabbit fur is used make lining for clothes. Angora rabbits are famous for their soft wool.

Image Sources:

Text Sources: New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, Lonely Planet Guides, Library of Congress, U.S. government, Compton’s Encyclopedia, The Guardian, National Geographic, Smithsonian magazine, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic Monthly, The Economist, Foreign Policy, Wikipedia, BBC, CNN, and various books, websites and other publications.

Last updated May 2016